Berhampur: Despite heavy rain, several people from nearby villages throng Chilika to witness a unique Rath Yatra, where the Holy Trinity sailed in the specially designed chariot mounted on three interconnected boats.“Kalijai Motor Boat Association extended a free ride to devotees from Yamuna Ghat at Nairi to Kankana-Silkhari, around 500m away in water, to witness the festival,” said association secrtetary Krushna Chandra Behera.The deities travelled around a 1.5-km radius of the island at Kankana-Silkhari inside Asia’s biggest brackish water lagoon for about an hour. After performing a ceremonial ‘pahandi’ ritual, the deities adorned the chariot-mounted boat and returned to the mandap. “The rain, which continued since Wednesday, surprisingly stopped after the pahandi ritual started around 1 pm,” said Sushant Kumar Sahoo, president of Shree Jagannath Leelakshetra Trust.Two platoons of forces and five officers were deployed to maintain law and order.
